Units

Key policy question: What progress is being made in reducing emissions of NH3?

Key messages

EEA-32 emissions of NH3 have declined by 28% between the years 1990 and 2010. Agriculture was responsible for 94% of NH3 emissions in 2010.

The reduction in emissions within the agricultural sector is primarily due to a reduction in livestock numbers (especially cattle) since 1990, changes in the handling and management of organic manures and from the decreased use of nitrogenous fertilisers. The reductions achieved in the agricultural sector have been marginally offset by the increase in annual emissions over this period in the road-transport sector, and to a lesser extent the 'Solvent and product use' and 'Non-road transport' sectors.

All but two of the EU-27 Member States reported 2010 national NH3 emissions under NECD below the level of the 2010 emission ceilings set in the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD)[1]. Emissions in 2010 for two of the three non-EU countries having emission ceilings set under the UNECE/CLRTAP Gothenburg protocol (Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) were also below the level of the respective 2010 ceilings.

Environmental context: NH3 contributes to acid deposition and eutrophication. The subsequent impacts of acid deposition can be significant, including adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems in rivers and lakes and damage to forests, crops and other vegetation. Eutrophication can lead to severe reductions in water quality with subsequent impacts including decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance, and toxicity effects. NH3 also contributes to the formation of secondary particulate aerosols, an important air pollutant due to its adverse impacts on human health.

[1] Emissions data reported by EU member states under NECD is used for comparison with NECD ceilings, and data reported under CLRTAP is used for all other calculations unless otherwise stated. 2010 emissions reported under NECD in 2012 by 11 member states differed from that reported under CLRTAP.

Emission trends of ammonia (EEA member countries, EU-27 Member States)

Note:This chart shows past emission trends of ammonia in the EEA-32 and EU-27 group of countries. In addition - for the EU-27 - the 2010 and 2020 emission ceilings and paths are shown.

Note:The distance-to-target indicator shows how current NH3 emissions compare to a linear emission reduction 'target-path' between 2010 emission levels and 2020 Gothenburg emission ceilings for each country. Negative percentage values indicate the current emissions in a country are below the linear target path; positive values show that current emission lie above a linear target path to 2020.

Key assessment

EEA-32 ammonia emissions have decreased by 28% between 1990 and 2010.

In general, the 27 EU Member States have made excellent progress in reducing emissions of ammonia, and 25 reported 2010 emissions under NECD which were below the level of their respective 2010 emission ceilings. The remaining countries, Finland and Spain, require further reductions in emissions of 17% and 5% respectively in order to meet their continuing obligation under the NECD. As indicated in Fig. 2, Denmark reported 2010 emissions under CLRTAP which were above the level of their NECD ceiling, however emissions reported under NECD were lower than their 2010 ceiling.

Finland reported emissions for 2010 which were significantly higher than their NECD ceiling and, although emissions reported under CLRTAP reduced by 6% between 1990 and 2000, their emissions have remained largely stable since 2000. Conversely, ammonia emissions in Spain have risen by around 17% since 1990, although a reduction equivalent to 3% of 1990 emissions has been reported from 2000 to 2010.

Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey are not members of the European Union and hence have no emission ceilings set under the NECD. Norway and Switzerland have ratified the UNECE LRTAP Convention's Gothenburg Protocol, requiring them to reduce their emissions to the agreed ceiling specified in the protocol by 2010. Liechtenstein has also signed, but not ratified the protocol. Whilst Norway and Switzerland reported 2010 emissions below the level of their 2010 ceiling under the Gothenburg Protocol, emissions in Lichtenstein were above the level of their 2010 ceiling having risen significantly between 2000 and 2009, however a 9% reduction in emissions was reported between 2009 and 2010.

The NECD protocol is currently being reviewed, as part of the implementation of the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution, but a proposal for a revised directive is presently on hold until 2013. A revision of the Gothenburg protocol was published in June 2012, and proposed percentage emission reductions from 2005 levels to be met by 2020 for the four already regulated substances (NOX, NMVOC, SO2 and NH3) and in addition for primary emissions of PM2.5. Existing emission ceilings for 2010 have been extended to 2020 such that all countries have additional obligations to maintain emission levels below their 2010 ceilings, or to further reduce emissions if they have not yet met these ceilings.

Ten of the EU-27 Member States have already met the 2020 targets proposed under the Gothenburg protocol, and all except eight of the remaining countries are on track to reduce emissions to their ceiling by or before 2020. Of these countries however, only Latvia reported 2010 emissions which were more than 10% of their 2005 total over the linear target path to their 2020 target.

Specific policy question: How do different sectors and processes contribute to emissions of NH3?

Sector share of ammonia emissions (EEA member countries)

Note:The contribution made by different sectors to emissions of ammonia in 2010.

Specific assessment

The agricultural sector remains the major source of NH3 emissions; despite emissions falling by 29% since 1990, agriculture contributed 95% of total emissions in 1990, and 94% in 2010.

These emissions derive mainly from the decomposition of urea in animal wastes and uric acid in poultry wastes. Emissions depend on the animal species, age, weight, diet, housing systems, waste management and storage techniques. The majority of the reduction in emissions is due to the combination of reduced livestock numbers across Europe (especially cattle), and the lower use of nitrogenous fertilisers. NH3 emissions have also declined in EEA-32 countries outside the European Union between 1990 and 2010. Again this is primarily due to reductions which have occurred in the agricultural sector as a result of decreasing animal numbers.

Emissions from road transport, though relatively small, have risen from 1990 levels as a result of the increasing use of three-way catalytic converters in the vehicle fleet; these release NH3 as a result of an unwanted reaction involving hydrogen which reduces NO to NH3. However emissions have fallen since 2000, and are projected to fall in the future as the second generation of catalysts, which emit lower levels of NH3 than the first generation catalysts, penetrate the vehicle fleet.

Justification for indicator selection

The agriculture sector is responsible for over 90% of NH3 emissions across the EEA-32. NH3 contributes to acid deposition and eutrophication, which in turn, can lead to potential changes occurring in soil and water quality. The subsequent impacts of acid deposition can be significant, including adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems in rivers and lakes, and damage to forests, crops and other vegetation. Eutrophication can lead to severe reductions in water quality with subsequent impacts including decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance, and toxicity effects. In many cases, the deposition of acidifying and eutrophying substances still exceeds the critical loads of the ecosystems (see EEA indicator CSI 005 'Exposure of ecosystems to acidification, eutrophication and ozone'). Further details concerning emissions of acidifying pollutants are provided in the EEA Core Set Indicator CSI 001 'Emissions of acidifying substances'.

As a secondary particulate precursor, NH3 also contributes to the formation of particulate aerosols in the atmosphere. Particulate matter is an important air pollutant due to its adverse impact on human health and NH3 is therefore also indirectly linked to effects on human health (see EEA Core Set Indicator CSI 003 'Emissions of primary particles and secondary particulate precursors' for further details concerning emissions of particulate matter.

Scientific references:

No rationale references
available

Policy context and targets

Context description

A number of policies have been implemented within Europe that either directly or indirectly act to reduce emissions of NH3. These include:

The National Emission Ceilings Directive 2001/81/EC (NECD) which entered into force in the European Community in 2001. The NECD sets emission ceilings for four important air pollutants (NH3, sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)) to be achieved from 2010 onwards for each Member State. The ceilings are designed to improve the protection in the Community of the environment and human health against risks of adverse effects arising from acidification, eutrophication and ground level ozone. The NECD is presently under review, the European Commission may adopt a proposal for a revised Directive during 2010.

The Gothenburg Protocol (1999) to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's (UNECE) Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) to abate acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone. A key objective of the protocol is to regulate emissions on a regional basis within Europe and to protect eco-systems from transboundary pollution by setting emission reduction ceilings to be reached by 2010 for the same four pollutants as addressed in the NECD (i.e. NH3, SOX, NOX, and NMVOCs). Overall for the EU Member States, the ceilings set within the Gothenburg protocol are generally either slightly less strict or the same as the emission ceilings specified in the NECD.

The Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (96/61/EC) entered into force in 1999. It aims to prevent or minimise pollution to air, water or land from various industrial sources throughout the European Union. Those installations covered by Annex I of the IPPC Directive are required to obtain authorisation from the authorities to operate. New installations and existing installations, which are subject to 'substantial changes' have been required to meet the requirements of the IPPC Directive since 30th October 1999. Other existing installations must have been brought into compliance by the 30 October 2007. The emission limit values outlined in the permit conditions must be based on best available techniques (BAT). The Commission has been undertaking a review of the IPPC Directive and related legislation on industrial emissions and on the 21 December 2007 adopted a proposal for a Directive on industrial emissions. The proposal recasts seven existing Directives relating to industrial emissions (including IPPC and the Large Combustion Plant Directive (2001/80/EC) into a single legislative instrument.

Apart from the NECD and Gothenburg Protocol and the IPPC Directive, there is currently no other EU legislation proposed or in force specifically aimed at reducing ammonia emissions. However, several regulatory instruments have influenced EU emissions of ammonia from the agriculture sector since 1990, such as:

the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP);

the Nitrate Directive (91/676/EEC);

the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC).

These measures have had the indirect effect of changing agricultural practices across the EU, and have, for instance, led to a reduced use of nitrogenous fertilisers and to an overall decrease in cattle numbers, both of which affect the levels of ammonia emissions. The reforms of CAP, and specifically the removal of the link between farm production and payments, has also resulted in reduced livestock numbers across the EU-15 and hence also will have indirectly contributed to the decrease in ammonia emissions observed.

Targets

Emissions of NH3 are covered by the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD) (2001/81/EC) and the Gothenburg protocol under the United Nations Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention) (UNECE 1999). The NECD generally involves slightly stricter emission reduction targets than the Gothenburg Protocol for EU-15 countries for the period 1990-2010. The Gothenburg Protocol entered into force on 17 May 2005, after ratification by 16 countries early in 2005.The 2012 revision to the Gothenburg protocol proposed emission reduction targets for 2020 relative to 2005 reported emissions for all EU-27 member states, and some EEA-32 non-EU member states.

Table: 2010 NH3 ceilings under the NEC Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol (kt)

Country

2010 NECD ceilings

2010 CLRTAP Gothenburg Protocol ceilings

2020 CLRTAP Gothenburg Protocol ceilings

Austria

66

66

62

Belgium

74

74

70

Bulgaria

108

108

56

Cyprus

9

N/A

5

Czech Republic

80

101

64

Denmark

69

69

63

Estonia

29

N/A

10

Finland

31

31

31

France

780

780

634

Germany

550

550

545

Greece

73

73

63

Hungary

90

90

72

Iceland*

N/A

N/A

N/A

Ireland

116

116

108

Italy

419

419

395

Latvia

44

44

15

Liechtenstein

N/A

0.15

N/A

Lithuania

84

84

35

Luxembourg

7

7

5

Malta

3

N/A

2

Netherlands

128

128

122

Norway

N/A

23

21

Poland

468

468

267

Portugal

90

108

47

Romania

210

210

173

Slovakia

39

39

24

Slovenia

20

20

17

Spain

353

353

357

Switzerland

N/A

63

59

Sweden

57

57

47

Turkey*

N/A

N/A

N/A

United Kingdom

297

297

283

* Iceland and Turkey do not have a ceiling under either the NEC Directive or the Gothenburg protocol.

Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC: Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

This indicator is based on officially reported national total and sectoral emissions to EEA and UNECE/EMEP (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/Cooperative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of air pollutants in Europe) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention), submission 2011. For the EU-27 Member States, the data used is consistent with the emissions data reported by the EU in its annual submission to the LRTAP Convention.

Base data, reported in the UNECE/EMEP Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector format, is aggregated into the following EEA sector codes to obtain a consistent reporting format across all countries and pollutants:

Energy production and distribution: emissions from public heat and electricity generation, oil refining, production of solid fuels, extraction and distribution of solid fossil fuels and geothermal energy;

Energy use in industry: emissions from combustion processes used in the manufacturing industry including boilers, gas turbines and stationary engines;

Industrial processes: emissions derived from non-combustion related processes such as the production of minerals, chemicals and metal production;

Other: emissions included in national total for entire territory not allocated to any other sector

The following table shows the conversion of Nomenclature for Reporting (NFR) sector codes used for reporting by countries into EEA sector codes:

EEA classification

Non-GHGs (NFR)

National totals

National total

Energy production and distribution

1A1, 1A3e, 1B

Energy use in industry

1A2

Road Transport

1A3b

Non-road transport (non-road mobile machinery)

1A3 (excl. 1A3b)

Industrial processes

2

Solvent and product use

3

Agriculture

4

Waste

6

Commercial, institutional and households

1A4ai, 1A4aii, 1A4bi, 1A4bii, 1A4ci, 1A4cii, 1A5a, 1A5b

Other

7

Methodology for gap filling

An improved gap-filling methodology was implemented in 2010 that enables a complete time series trend for the main air pollutants (eg NOX, SOX, NMVOC, NH3 and CO) to be compiled. In cases where countries did not report emissions for any year, it meant that gap-filling could not be applied. For these pollutants, therefore, the aggregated data are not yet complete and are likely to underestimate true emissions. Further methodological details of the gap-filling procedure are provided in section 1.4.2 'Data gaps and gap-filling' of the European Union emission inventory report 1990–2009 under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP).

Methodology references

EMEP/EEA (2009). EMEP/EEA Air pollutant emission inventory guidebook - 2009
This 2009 update of the emission inventory guidebook prepared by the UNECE/EMEP Task Force on Emissions Inventories and Projections provides a comprehensive guide to state-of-the-art atmospheric emissions inventory methodology. Its intention is to support reporting under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and the EU National Emission Ceilings Directive.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

The use of gap-filling for when countries have not reported emissions for one of more years can potentially lead to artificial trends, but it is considered unavoidable if a comprehensive and comparable set of emissions data for European countries is required for policy analysis purposes.

Data sets uncertainty

NH3 emission estimates in Europe are more uncertain than those for NOX, SO2 and NMVOCs due largely to the diverse nature of major agricultural sources. It is estimated that they are around ±30% (EMEP, 2009). The trend is likely to be more accurate than the individual absolute annual values - the annual values are not independent of each other.

Overall scoring: (1-3, 1=no major problems, 3=major reservations)

Relevancy: 1

Accuracy: 2

Comparability over time: 2

Comparability over space: 2

Rationale uncertainty

This indicator is regularly updated by EEA and is used in state of the environment assessments. The uncertainties related to methodology and data sets are therefore of importance. Any uncertainties involved in the calculation and in the data sets need to be accurately communicated in the assessment, to prevent erroneous messages influencing policy actions or processes.